Gallagher issued Substance Abuse Policy penalty

Driver Spencer Gallagher has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy, NASCAR announced Wednesday.

On May 1, Gallagher was found to have violated Section 19 (NASCAR’s substance abuse policy) of the 2018 NASCAR rule book, according to a NASCAR press release.

Gallagher has agreed to participate in the Road to Recovery Program, a requirement before he is eligible to be cleared to race again.

Gallagher issued the following statement after news of his suspension was announced: “I recently have had a positive result in a NASCAR drug screen, which has violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. I want to assure everyone in the NASCAR community this one-time error in judgment will never happen again. I am taking the steps to enroll in the Road to Recovery program supported by NASCAR. I would like to say that I am sorry to all of the GMS organization for my actions, especially my team and team owner, who have worked so hard this year and have put faith in me. I also want to apologize to NASCAR, Chevrolet and my fans for letting them down. I have not upheld the behavior that is expected of me. I promise you all here and now, I will do whatever it takes to make this right.”

Gallagher won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, making a pass on the final lap. He drives the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Should Gallagher be reinstated this season, he would not receive a playoff waiver.

Additionally, Gallagher and GMS Racing are not eligible to compete in the four-driver Dash 4 Cash field this week at Dover. RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg will replace Gallagher after finishing sixth at Talladega.

Gallagher has made 49 starts in the Xfinity Series and an additional 59 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has five top-five finishes and 22 top-10 finishes combined across both series.

GMS Racing President Mike Beam issued this as part of a team statement: “GMS fully supports NASCAR’s policy on substance abuse and we do not condone this type of behavior. First and foremost, our entire organization wants to apologize to NASCAR, our sponsors, teammates and fans due to this policy violation. … A substitute driver will be announced at a later date.”

This Moment in NASCAR History: Kes pulls off third consecutive win at wild Las Vegas in 2018Brad Keselowski won the playoff opener at Las Vegas last season after a wild race with 12 cautions. The win marked his third in a row and Team Penske's 500th victory all while punching his ticket to the next round of the playoffs.

MORE SITES

NASCAR® and its marks are trademarks of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. The RaceView® trademark is owned by Turner Sports, Inc. and used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.